Camper propane for outdoor stove?

CamperSam

Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
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23
I’m picking up my new Hawk in 2 weeks and was wondering...

If I want to cook outside, can I use the onboard propane to cook with?

I assume through some combination of hoses and adaptors it’s possible, but would it be worth it (to save on carrying a small propane or butane tank for an outdoor stove)

Thanks!
 
The short answer is yes. The specifics depend on what outdoor stove you have. I have both an old Coleman and even older Century two burner camp stove. They are both high pressure stoves. Basically that means they don’t require a separate regulator to run off a bulk propane tank. If your stove will run on the little green 1lb canisters it should take a bulk tank.

Either way, the hose assemblies to connect direct to tank and appliance; and related parts if needed, are readily available at most hardware and sporting goods stores, or online I’d assume. The one hiccup is how the tank is mounted in the Hawk from a convenance standpoint. My Grandby is old and undoing the tank to take out is a bit of hassle. Long hoses are available so you can leave your tank in, but you may have to hunt a bit to find one. My camping partner of days past had one that was like 15ft long he used with the tank in place in his old Keystone. He got it from the local Propane Dealer.

The hoses aren’t a bunch of money. To answer the question “Is it worth it?” would depend on how much you think you’ll do it. For me, I have a smaller bulk tank I use if I’m planning a longer trip. It makes sense for me because it’s also what I use with my rafting camp gear. It fits comfortably in my dry box.

Good luck
 
I installed a fitting in my propane tank compartment, attached to camper connect hose. I use a hose , attach it to the fitting and then to the item that needs the propane, lantern, or stove. I purchased Mr. Heater brand hoses. They come in several lenghts.
 
We have a small Coleman and take 3-4 small propane bottles. I use the grill away from the camper, either the table that is on my trailer or a campsite picnic table. I have never considered using the on board. As others have said you can add a splitter. Good Luck and have fun with your new camper.
 
On the newer campers with 2 10lb tanks it’s easy to take one out to use.
Many places sell hoses to go from the tank to a disposable bottle connection.

What I have found, in colder weather, 30’s. The tank works much better due to the larger surface area for the gas to boil off. The 1lb disposable bottles tend to lose a lot of gas pressure and your stove doesn’t work as well.

I do try to have a couple 1 lb bottles with me for when I accidentally run out on both tanks. I have had several 1lb bottles leak when I remove them from my stove. Ymmv
 
If you decide to carry one pound bottles get some of the brass caps(amazon) to seal them as they are prone to leaking. I've had them leak enough to trip the propane alarm in the camper and had one just last weekend that leaked severely when i remove the stove hose assembly.
 
Beach has a good idea.
Here is the link for many choices Brass Cap

I have never experienced a leaking bottle in the 55 years I have been using one, still I will buy 2 of them for when I use part of a bottle in my stove or barbecue.

Speaking of propane stove regulators. We have Coleman. Quality is still good...well the stove works great. The new ones (we bought ours in 2012) use a regulator where the end that screws into the bottle is made of aluminum. Over tome the threads wear down. In my last trip to the hot springs in February the connection failed and the bottle would not screw in. Luckily I had my one burner stove that I use when its to windy or rainy to cook outside and the regulator fit my 2 burner stove . I replaced the bad one and put a spare in the stove bag.
 
AWG_Pics said:
We have a Camp Chef Everest 2 burner stove that comes with a long enough hose to hook up to the 10 lb tank that we are not currently using on our Hawk. We place the stove on a folding table we got at REI so everthing is very convenient.

Here is a link to the stove: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004S3HDBO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Have fun with your new camper!
Started doing exactly this last year and quit using my Coleman with white gas, more economical, convenient and takes up less room. As a side note blue ridge overland makes a nice case for the stove to travel in.
 
Same thing as others have said. Unless they changed it, your Hawk will come with 2 ten pound bottles. There is only one connection for the camper appliances. The second tank is for swapping in when your first tank is empty. We have the Everest stove as well, but I think we had to but the hose; it only came with the little brass arm for running it off of 1 pound tanks. It was easy enough to find a hose that goes directly between the stove and the propane bottle. The hose even fits inside of the stove, coiled around both burners. You could get complicated and plumb a gas connection from your camper regulator to the outside to make things slick, but then you are tied to the camper. To keep things simple, just take the second tank out, which is easy, and set it out where you have your stove or propane firepit and enjoy.
 
Andy Douglass said:
Same thing as others have said. Unless they changed it, your Hawk will come with 2 ten pound bottles. There is only one connection for the camper appliances. The second tank is for swapping in when your first tank is empty. We have the Everest stove as well, but I think we had to but the hose; it only came with the little brass arm for running it off of 1 pound tanks. It was easy enough to find a hose that goes directly between the stove and the propane bottle. The hose even fits inside of the stove, coiled around both burners. You could get complicated and plumb a gas connection from your camper regulator to the outside to make things slick, but then you are tied to the camper. To keep things simple, just take the second tank out, which is easy, and set it out where you have your stove or propane firepit and enjoy.
Thanks for the reminder, we did buy the hose seperately, but it works great.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6D1AG2/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01M6D1AG2&pd_rd_w=JZ7C9&pf_rd_p=48d372c1-f7e1-4b8b-9d02-4bd86f5158c5&pd_rd_wg=O8jZ2&pf_rd_r=DWN0TYHBWC67WME78S9E&pd_rd_r=a0a831cd-0b45-42af-9217-5426874f86f9&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzNUo1M1pZRkwzSE9XJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjY2NjMxMUpBSVZNSks1QjNDRSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzE0NjY3MjRHUU1DMERMOEpIUCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbCZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

And as you say, it fits nicely into the stove, and we got a carry bag similar to what craig mentioned.
 
Our old camper that I set up to work with the Magna bbq. Note the ACME propane fitting in the rear wall of the camper. I tapped in ahead of the camper's pressure regulator. On the inside there is a fuel gas rated ball valve to turn off the fitting when not in use.

i-CZpp2g6-L.jpg
 
One thing to consider. Do you want to cook that close to your camper? We like to cook near where we eat. We bought a small 1lb tank but we have to carry it and it's just another thing to carry.
 
On this 2020 Hawk Shell with furnace, there are 2 10 lbs tanks. This trip we tried a five foot hose to "throw-away" connector (the same as this Eureka stove accepts) and I took the tank out and put it back for every meal--it was surprisingly reasonable.

Only note: I was glad we went with the shorter hose. There's enough pressure in the hose alone that I have about 30 seconds to a minute of full blast on the stove propane left in there when I turn off the valve on the tank. I try to time cooking to use that extra propane instead of venting (hey, it's a greenhouse gas!) and that inconvenience would be even worse with a 12 foot line!

Look at the pic, this is plenty.

IMG_2481.jpg
 
We have a Camp Chef Explorer stove, which has legs. I place one of the 10-pound propane tanks under the stove and use a regulator with a fairly short hose. Works great.

When staying in an improved campground, I carry a cable and padlock and will lock the stove and tank to the picnic table if we're going to be gone for the day. Only challenge is that with only one tank in the propane compartment, the tank is not secure. I'm still trying to come up with some sort of portable spacer to keep the single tank secure.
 
PJorgen said:
We have a Camp Chef Explorer stove, which has legs. I place one of the 10-pound propane tanks under the stove and use a regulator with a fairly short hose. Works great.

When staying in an improved campground, I carry a cable and padlock and will lock the stove and tank to the picnic table if we're going to be gone for the day. Only challenge is that with only one tank in the propane compartment, the tank is not secure. I'm still trying to come up with some sort of portable spacer to keep the single tank secure.
Why don't you make a mini cargo bar to secure the single propane tank? Assuming that the propane cabinet walls are solid, cut a piece of threaded Ready Rod just shy in length of the width of the propane cabinet. Then it is just a large nut threaded on each end of the Ready Rod, placed beside the tank and then tightened against the cabinet wall.
 

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